The Bridge of San Luis Rey – April CC Book Club Selection

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<p>Mary13, great explanation of 2nd Corinthians as it relates to the Marquesa final and apparently “most famous” letter!!!</p>

<p>Thanks to NJTheatermom for the Encyclopedia link. I didn’t quite understand that reference. </p>

<p>So, Wilder, who was inspired by the true letters of Madame de Sevigne, who has two “letter writing” characters in this book (The Marquesa and Manuel) who himself wrote 10,000 letters, certainly didn’t make a hasty reference to the biblical letter writer, Paul.</p>

<p>But, what do you think the Marquesa’s quote " Of the thousands of persons we meet in a lifetime, my child …" ?</p>

<p>Is it stretching it to note that in 2nd Corinthians, Paul mentions the importance of “taking” care of those less fortunate, which is,eventually, what Dona Clara eventually does? </p>

<p>But this I say,** He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. **
9:7
Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. </p>

<p>And, this seems applicable, too. </p>

<p>“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”</p>

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<p>Great job, Mary! I think you deserve the gold star today :). </p>

<p>Funny side note about 1 Corinthians - when H and I got married I had his ring custom made at a local jeweler. I had the inside engraved with our initials, wedding date, and “1 Cor. 13:13”. The jeweler was Jewish and apparently unfamiliar with procedure for quoting the bible, so it took some explaining to get that right.</p>

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<p>Mary: Yea! Of course, Wilder did not make that error. It just seemed so unlikely - definitely not a error to made. I agree with your analysis 100%.</p>

<p>We know that Wilder based the Marquesa on Madame de Sevigne. As to her daughter:</p>

<p>[url=&lt;a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Françoise-Marguerite_de_Sévigné]Fran”&gt;Françoise-Marguerite de Sévigné - Wikipedia]Fran</a></p>

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<p>Thanks,** Ignatius**, interesting link about the daughter, had to laugh about the description of her husband-“He was remarkably ugly (his ugliness being a frequent family joke), yet tall, graceful, athletic, and charming”</p>

<p>I always learn so much from the books we read, as well as from the discussions. I had not heard of these MOST famous letters before reading The Bridge. </p>

<p>'Thus began perhaps the most famous series of correspondence in literary history. Over the span of nearly 30 years, Madame de S</p>

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<p>At the beginning of this discussion, I wrote that the only Wilder works I was familiar with were The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Our Town, but I just realized that there’s a third: I saw The Long Christmas Dinner twice this fall (my daughter’s high school was putting on the play, so I went both nights). I had forgotten that it was by Thornton Wilder, as he wasn’t on my radar at that point. Now, of course, it seems so obvious because the theme of The Long Christmas Dinner revisits those of The Bridge and Our Town, i.e., the events of our lives are seldom unique or extraordinary, and the details are soon forgotten, but every single life is a vital part of the link that keeps us connected to each other, bound by love.</p>

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<p>It’s hardly surprising, is it, that he would have felt that way, given his life and his personality? I think the absence of that kind of passion partly explains why some find his work less than compelling. One always wonders how different someone like Wilder might have been had he been born, say, 60 or 70 years later, and had not been as thoroughly closeted as he was. (And, no, this isn’t remotely the same kind of speculation that some people engage in with respect to various historical figures like Abraham Lincoln; it’s well-known that Wilder was gay.)</p>

<p>There’s an interesting article about his work, and about the fact that people never seem to put him in the same literary pantheon as contemporaries like Fitzgerald and Hemingway and O’Neill, in the Hudson Review:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.hudsonreview.com/au08bawerWEB.pdf[/url]”>http://www.hudsonreview.com/au08bawerWEB.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>This is one passage, about his early novels including Bridge; it follows a description of the review of one of those novels, The Woman of Andros, by a Communist writer in The New Republic, whose criticisms included accusations of implicitly “homosexual” characters:</p>

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[QUOTE]
one doesn’t have to be a Stalinist or a homophobe to
find Wilder’s first three novels (none of them set in America) a
tad too genteel for one’s tastes; for all their artistry and intelligence,
reading them can be like sitting in an airless room and
wanting desperately to throw the windows open. Wilder himself
summed up the main weakness that his first three novels share in
a 1928 conversation with Andr</p>

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<p>Wow, DonnaL, that was quite an article. I was fascinated by what the author said about the four Wilder works with which I have some familiarity:</p>

<p>Bridge of San Luis Rey: </p>

<p>“the book feels throughout like a self-conscious performance, a stylistic experiment.” YES, I agree!</p>

<p>"(the book’s concluding words are) a powerful sentiment, beautifully expressed—
but it doesn’t feel quite earned." I find that I agree with this also. I think this was one of the things that bothered me about the book, without my quite being able to put a finger on what was wrong. </p>

<p>Our Town:</p>

<p>“In fact, Our Town is a chilling piece of work; the more you examine its vision of small-town American life, the more the charm shades into claustrophobia, the innocence into conformism. And its depiction of the afterlife is creepier than any horror movie.”
Wow, I think that’s a little rough, but I must admit that I know for a fact that today’s young actors HATE “Our Town”!</p>

<p>On the other hand…</p>

<p>“The Matchmaker,” Wilder’s play on which “Hello, Dolly!” was based. </p>

<p>I have seen a theatrical production of The Matchmaker and it is utterly charming.</p>

<p>“Theophilus North.” </p>

<p>I have not read Theophilus North, but there is a 1988 film version of it called “Mr North” that is a pure and utter delight.</p>

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<p>I think there is a reason that Wilder is now better remembered as a dramatist than a novelist, despite the enduring interest in Bridge of San Luis Rey.</p>

<p>Referring back to DonnaL’s quote above, Wilder’s desire for the theatre to get away from “specious attempts at verisimilitude” and engage in “psychological and emotional realism” was entirely in sync with the times. The late twenties and early thirties were the era of the Group Theatre in New York, a time when lots of ground breaking things were happening.</p>

<p>[Group</a> Theatre (New York) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_Theatre_(New_York)]Group”>Group Theatre (New York City) - Wikipedia)</p>

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<p>Cross posted with NJTheaterMom —now I’ll read what you have written :slight_smile: </p>

<p>After reading your fascinating link, ** Donna L**, I’m feeling very sad for Thornton Wilder.
Bruce Bawer paints Thornton as quite a lonely figure, unable to tap into real emotion, and his article quite a scathing portrait of Wilder’s works.</p>

<p>About Our Town Bawer writes:
…yet Edward Albee has also called it “one of the toughest, saddest plays ever written,” and he’s right. In fact, Our Town is a chilling piece of
work; the more you examine its vision of small-town American
life, the more the charm shades into claustrophobia, the innocence
into conformism. And its depiction of the afterlife is
creepier than any horror movie.</p>

<p>Ouch!</p>

<p>What a conflicted person Thornton Wilder must have been, raised by a strict Calvinistic father and grandson of a minister. He was exposed to foreign cultures at a young age.
Guess he always felt like a stranger in a strange land, and, therefore examined life like an archaeologist, trying to piece together bits of information in attempts to understand it all.</p>

<p>I had to laugh when I read this- Was Wilder writing about Jersey Shore and Snookie?</p>

<p>The Skin of Our Teeth (1942) was if anything even more avantgarde
than Our Town. Its main characters, the Antrobus family,
live at once in present-day America and in prehistoric times: “the
author,” the family’s maid, Sabina, informs the audience, “hasn’t
made up his silly mind as to whether we’re all living back in caves
or in New Jersey today.”</p>

<p>(By the way, after reading your link, I wanted to know more about Bruce Bower, stumbled on Bill Moyer’s interview with him about his book “While Europe Slept”- eyeopening.)
Also,** Donna L**, are you familiar with Samuel Steward, and how credible is he ? <a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/books/26secret.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/books/26secret.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Manuel and Esteban’s relationship seemed to express gay overtones, as I read it, even though they were brothers, I thought Wilder’s depiction of their bond went beyond brotherly boundaries.</p>

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<p>Hi Donna, thanks so much for the interesting article!</p>

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<p>I think the end of Our Town is supposed to be startling. I wouldn’t label it as creepy, but it always puts a knot in my stomach. The first two acts are engaging and witty (I have never found them claustrophobic or conformist) and then suddenly, it’s over—lives have ended, the quaint and gently ironic tone is gone, and we see life–and death–as a terrible letdown: “is that all there is?” But what I think Wilder is saying is, “Yes, that’s all there is. And it is wonderful, so appreciate every moment as you live it.” He himself was surprised by the gut-wrenching response from the audience: </p>

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<p>In attempting to create a generic “type” (see Discussion Question #2), Wilder succeeds almost too well: We see ourselves all too clearly in George and Emily–the small joys and regrets, and in the end, the overwhelming but misguided wish for a “do-over.” I agree with Edward Albee’s comment that it is “one of the toughest, saddest plays ever written.”</p>

<p>Sorry – that was totally a digression from our discussion of The Bridge, except that both works point to the same deep-seated beliefs held by Wilder.</p>

<p>FYI, here are some great photographs of him in his later years: [Jill</a> Krementz Celebrates Thornton Wilder](<a href=“http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/node/1901333/print]Jill”>http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/node/1901333/print)</p>

<p>For the record, I think Bawer is too hard on Wilder. Bawer’s comment that Wilder “seems to have made a lifelong effort not to get too close to anyone” doesn’t sound like the man that Ruth Gordon describes in the above link, a friend with whom she shared “forty-six years of friendship, of love, of devotion, of comforting.”</p>

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<p>Those photos were interesting. I really had no idea that during most of the time that I was in college in New Haven, Wilder was still alive and living in nearby Hamden. I’m sure I knew at the time who he was; I just wasn’t aware that he was still around.</p>

<p>PS: It’s possible that Bawer may have been referring to the fact that so far as is known, he never had an actual romantic relationship (as opposed to sexual encounters) with anyone.</p>

<p>Also: I vaguely remember hearing about Samuel Steward, but have no idea how reliable he was. I wouldn’t doubt that much of it is true; none of the names mentioned surprises me. Not that I’m an expert, but I have had friends who seem to know this kind of thing!</p>

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<p>Yes … or as SJCM said, Ouch!</p>

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<p>NJTM, you might find this article interesting: [Second</a> Reading: Jonathan Yardley on Thornton Wilder’s ‘Bridge of San Luis Rey’](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/07/AR2009120703677.html]Second”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/07/AR2009120703677.html)</p>

<p>Jonathan Yardley is not Peruvian, simply a part-time resident of Peru, but it’s enough for him to spot the errors regarding locale. Still, in the grand scheme of things he finds those errors to be inconsequential:</p>

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<p>(Whatever Wilder’s errors, I guess in the end all was forgiven, as the Peruvian government honored him on February 27, 1958. [per the Afterword, p. 116])</p>

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<p>I was thinking about the words from the last sentence “the bridge is love” and the use of the bridge as a metaphor for love. It seems to me that all of the victims had crossed a bridge in terms of <em>love</em> shortly before they came to the Bridge. In order to begin their new directions they had to cross both this change in their relationships and the physical bridge to Lima. </p>

<p>The idea of the broken bridge could metaphorically represent their breaks with their pasts, or the nature of their past relationships. The Marquesa still loves her daughter, but not in the obsessive way she did before. Pepita breaks with her child self in becoming a more mature “brave” young woman and deciding to stick with the Marquesa. Esteban begins to accept his brother’s death and his need to focus on something or someone outside himself (thinks of getting Mother Maria a gift). Uncle Pio leaves Camila to begin a new mission with Jaime. Jaime is hopefully leaving a sickly childhood with bare scrapings of love for a healthier, happier, more loved future…</p>

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<p>What a fascinating piece, Mary. Great find! The good old Washington Post…I used to read it all the time when I lived in Maryland.</p>

<p>Thornton Wilder’s influencing Gabriel Garcia M</p>

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<p>

Bvghhh…that book makes me shudder just to hear the title. We certainly have different tastes in books NJT :).</p>

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<p>All this new information and the links are great! I think I will look up the famous letters of Madame de Sevigne, too (I also had never heard of them).</p>

<p>The Boston NPR affiliate broadcasts live Sunday services from Boston University, and included in today’s Easter service was a reference to Thornton Wilder–his “Our Town” comment that there is something eternal in every human life! (also on the menu, 1 Corinthians on the resurrection).</p>

<p>If anyone’s interested in the funeral music from the book, here’s a nice recording of the Kyrie mentioned by the Abbess:
[03</a> Kyrie - YouTube](<a href=“03 Kyrie - YouTube”>03 Kyrie - YouTube)</p>

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<p>I hope everyone had a pleasant Easter weekend!</p>

<p>buenavista, thanks for the link. I listened to the Kyrie – very nice. That’s a funny coincidence that Wilder was quoted in BU’s Easter service. </p>

<p>I read somewhere (the Foreword?) that there was a resurgence of interest in Thornton Wilder after 2001, when Tony Blair quoted him in his speech at the memorial service in New York for the victims of 9/11. Here’s a short reflection from The Guardian (from September 2011) on Blair’s choice: [Why</a> Thornton Wilder inspired Blair | World news | guardian.co.uk](<a href=“http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/sep/21/september11.usa21]Why”>Why Thornton Wilder inspired Blair | Justine Jordan | The Guardian)</p>

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<p>^^^ Nice (It was written in 2001 the day after Blair’s speech at the memorial service, not 2011, though.) Your link led me to this one:</p>

<p>[Text</a> of Tony Blair’s reading in New York | World news | guardian.co.uk](<a href=“Text of Tony Blair's reading in New York | September 11 2001 | The Guardian”>Text of Tony Blair's reading in New York | September 11 2001 | The Guardian)</p>

<p>and from one of the earlier posts:</p>

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<p>I’ve thought about this because I felt betrayed by the author at the end of The Elegance of the Hedgehog but not by Wilder. I think for me the reason lies in the fact that the book starts with

See, I already know the sudden deaths occur. Rather than sadness that the deaths occur at a possible point of redemption, I’m glad that redemption occurs before death. The narrator further confirms that redemption with his perspective of time and distance. In contrast, to have read Esteban’s story as he lives it and then have the bridge collapse as he takes a tenuous step toward healing (or the Marquesa, Pepita, Pio, Jaime) … well … no, just no. Even having Brother Juniper as narrator would not have worked. I think Wilder could only get his points across with a “removed tone” … without deeply investing readers’ emotions in the characters lives … sadness, yes, shock, no. It seems to me that all the characters here exist in part as secondary characters … secondary to Perhaps an Accident or Perhaps an Intention.</p>

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<p>I didn’t read The Elegance of the Hedgehog but I also like that Wilder’s book lets us know up front what happens. That let me focus on the accident/intention questions he was posing.</p>

<p>Thanks for the reminder about Tony Blair–that’s mentioned in the foreword to my copy, but I’d forgotten it!</p>

<p>Has anyone seen the 1952 Jean Renoir film, The Golden Coach, about a commedia dell’arte troupe in 18th century Peru? It is based on the play, Le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper M</p>